Jump, Jive an' Wail
by WinTTY
Summary: It's the late 1950's. Elvis is the coolest cat around, Rockabilly rules the radio waves, Kerouac's rebellious beatniks are at their zenith and civil rights movements are kicking off in the south.
1. Milkshakes

It's the late 1950's. Elvis is the coolest cat around, Rockabilly rules the radio waves, Kerouac's rebellious beatniks are at their zenith and civil rights are kicking off in the south.

More specifically it's 1959, and it's one scorching summer in the oceanside town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon. Tourists aplenty, the beaches of the quaint hamlet are unusually filled with people.

Just two months ago a diner had opened up nearby - the Two Whales - and it's already seeing a huge influx of residents and visitors alike. It serves good food, good coffee and is ran by good people. It's the centre of attention right now.

Chloe Price sits inside, brooding in a booth located near the back - one she claimed specifically for herself. She's not like other girls. She doesn't wear dresses or pretty headbands, doesn't put effort into makeup nor her hair. Chloe Price wears leather jackets, Levi's and Chuck Taylors, she wears her hair in a quiff, slicked and greased up to perfection.

More importantly however, Chloe Price doesn't like boys.

Chloe Price likes girls.

She sighs and crosses her arms, throwing her feet up on the linoleum table. She sighs and drops her head, nodding off slightly as she listens to the sounds of the jukebox beside her. She sighs and moves around to find a more comfortable spot. She sighs as she thinks.

It's moments later that her attention snaps up to the diner entrance as the bell rings.

Her arms drops - as does her jaw - as she stares at the two girls who just entered.

One is pretty, blonde hair in an immaculate bun, cardigan and skirt, bookbag, a silver cross around her neck.

The other is… beautiful.

She's brunette, her hair styled into a fashionable bob, donning similar outfit to her friend. She clutches her books up to her chest and hides her shy smile behind them, brushes away something on her freckled cheeks, giggles loudly when her friend says something.

Somewhere in time, Chloe drops her legs from the table and sits up, leaning forward instead - mesmerised, far gone, over her head, kooks, crazy-

"Chloe-"

"Shh, mom, not now-"

"Don't _'shh'_ me young lady!" Joyce says and puts her hand up to her chest.

Chloe rolls her head and drops it slightly. "Sorry."

"Have you talked to your father yet?" she asks her daughter as she sets down a plate before her. "You know he needs help around the workshop."

"I know, I know," Chloe leans back and stares at her food instead. "I'll do it after."

"Good. Now enjoy your food darlin'."

Chloe waits until Joyce is out of sight before she readjusts her eyes on the two girls still near the counter.

She watches, and watches, and watches, and-

She stops when she realises she probably looks creepy.

Chloe digs into her food and tries her hardest to not look up until it's too late and the girls are gone.

. . .

A week later Chloe stands behind the Blackwell gymnasium, cigarette in hand as she takes a drag and blows the smoke out to the side. She thinks about the pretty girl from the diner.

"Get lost you whack jobs!"

Her eyebrows rise as she hears the voice nearby. Her cigarette falls to the ground and is promptly stomped out as she makes her way around the corner.

It's the girl from the diner, beautiful as ever, flanked by two greasers who seem to be up to no good. In fact, both their hands are incredibly close to her and-

"Hey!" Chloe calls out and storms over, fists clenched. "What are you doing? Leave her alone!"

"Lookie here Biff, we got us another one," one of them speaks and gestures his friend to deal with Chloe.

"Split, doll." Biff rolls up his cuffs as he takes position between Chloe and them. "You don't want to get involved."

Chloe frowns. "I'm not your doll. Leave her alone," she repeats and takes a step forward.

Biff steps forward himself. "Or what? You going to fight us, gal? Haha-"

Laughter interrupted, he falls backwards as he receives a knuckle sandwich to the jaw, sputtering and smashing into his friend - sending both of them to the concrete floor in pain.

Chloe shakes her fist as residue pain shoots up her knuckles. Her attention turns to the girl up against the wall. "Are you okay?" she asks.

Nodding in reply, she steps forward and stands beside Chloe, looking down at the two greasers beginning to stand up.

"Let's beat it, Jackie," Biff says to his friend as he helps him up, rubbing his jaw. "This gal's feisty."

Jackie and Biff glare at Chloe as they pass quickly and scram around the corner of the gym. She doesn't take her eyes off them for one second, constantly scowling.

"Hey, thanks," the girl beside her speaks up after they're gone. "That was… scary."

Chloe drops her scowl and looks at her. She smiles and speaks, "No sweat, cool cat. They didn't hurt you, right?"

"No, but it was close. I'm Maxine," she says and smiles, pulling up her books to her chest.

"Chloe."

Staring at each other for a few seconds, they eventually look away awkwardly.

"I gotta split. Stay safe," Chloe says and throws her hands into her pockets, turning around to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Maxine calls out and hurries over. "Listen, I… I should repay you somehow for helping me."

"There's no need-"

"I insist," Maxine insists.

Chloe stares at her. Looking her up and down in a once-over, she grins when Maxine looks away with a blush. "Fine. Two Whales, after school?"

Maxine nods a few too many times. "Deal."

. . .

The jukebox plays a mix of Rockabilly tunes the moment they enter the diner.

"Where do you want to sit?" Chloe asks as she grips the inside of her jacket pockets, slightly nervous. Her head bobs to the sounds.

Maxine scrunches up her nose and points at Chloe's booth in the back. "I dig that."

Chloe bites her tongue to stop herself from blurting out _'I dig you'._

Once they sit themselves down opposite one another, Maxine pushes her books out to the side and looks at the jukebox.

"Don't you like the tunes?" Chloe asks as she herself stares at the jukebox. "Here," she says and stands up.

Maxine watches as Chloe messes with the jukebox for a few moments, selecting a track and ignoring the few stares she receives from the older patrons. Eventually an upbeat track makes itself known.

"Long Tall Sally," Chloe says as she sits down. "One of the better ones on that thing."

"Do you listen to it often?"

"My mom works here. I tend to sit around and wait for her to finish, don't have much to do around Squaresville," Chloe replies and taps her hand against the table.

Maxine giggles.

Chloe catches her breath quietly as the giggle makes her feel all warm and fuzzy and-

"Chloe," Joyce interrupts as she spots her daughter. "Have you-," she stops and notices Maxine. With a raised eyebrow, she shoots a questionable glance at Chloe.

"Mom, this is Maxine. We're just hanging out," Chloe mumbles and looks away.

Joyce smiles. "Hello sweetheart. What can I get you both?"

"A milkshake," Chloe says and looks up at Joyce, "big one."

Joyce wishes she could say she was surprised, but she isn't. "Comin' up," she replies and walks away.

Maxine widens her eyes slightly. "Milkshake? Not milkshakes?"

Chloe laughs quietly and looks at her across the table. "I thought this was a date?" she teases with a dangerous grin.

Her mouth falls open and she blabbers silently. "Wha- I- Date-," she stutters out and feels her cheeks warming up almost uncomfortably.

"Kidding," Chloe says but maintains her grin, still suggesting, still hopeful.

It takes a few seconds for Maxine to recover, but she does and she looks up at Chloe again. "I just want to say… thank you for earlier again. I'm not sure what those two kooks would've done had you not stopped them."

"No sweat, seriously." Chloe runs her hand through her hair and looks around the diner.

They share some pleasant conversation. It's back and forth and lasts for a few minutes as they wait for their milkshake. Getting to know one another, Chloe learns that Maxine is interested in Photography - a curious subject - whereas Maxine learns that Chloe is rather proficient in the Sciences.

Joyce interrupts them to hand over the milkshake, setting it out between them. She glances at Chloe briefly and then resumes working.

"So you're quite hip, huh?" Chloe says and leans forward to sip from the milkshake using a straw. "Photography, that's fancy. Real cool."

Maxine blushes and waits until Chloe finishes her drink before leaning in to sip herself. "Totally not. I'm not hip, I dress like a cube-"

"I think you dress nicely," Chloe interrupts her and smiles.

"Oh." Maxine looks at her and then sips from the milkshake again. "Thanks," she whispers, barely audible, and then flashes a shy smile.

Taking turns to share the milkshake, they continue their conversation. They ignore the few stares directed at them. Two girls sharing a milkshake? Scandalous. Chloe glares back dangerously every time she catches somebody looking.

Then, after a few minutes of co-ordinated milkshake consumption and conversation, they both lean in and sip at the same time. They're inches away, noses almost touching as they freeze but continue to sip from their straws.

Chloe blushes.

Maxine blushes.

They lean away after a few more seconds, even though the milkshake is long gone.

"I, uhm…" Maxine says and then grabs her books, pulling them closer. "I have to go. My parents are going to ask me where I was otherwise."

Chloe pushes herself up immediately. "I'll walk you home."

"No, there's no need-"

"I insist," Chloe insists.

Clutching her books up to her chest, Maxine smiles and nods.

. . .

Maxine lives only a few streets away from Chloe, she learns. Walking quietly beside each other, they talk a bit more and make casual conversation about shared interest in music, hobbies and movies.

"We're here," Maxine eventually says as they stop in front of a normal cookie-cutter house near the end of the street.

Chloe looks down at her and smiles. "Thanks for today. I liked it."

"Me too," she replies and meets her eyes.

Again they hold the stare for longer than needed, but neither has the willpower - nor the need - to look away. Instead, there's an urge to lean in and-

"I'll see you in school, maybe?" Maxine breaks up the silence.

"Count on it," Chloe immediately replies. "Stay safe."

"You too," Maxine replies and turns towards her house, walking through the front yard.

With one more glance over her shoulder, she smiles at Chloe and disappears behind the door.

Watching the porch momentarily, Chloe sighs and looks up at the cloudless canvas above. She realises it's actually pretty late and the stars are making their way into the dusky sky.

She sighs.

Maxine is really, really pretty.

Chloe giggles to herself, shoves her hands into her pockets and walks home.


	2. Carnival

On Monday the following week, Maxine stands outside her locker as she begins replacing some of her books for the lessons ahead of her. She keeps a dopey smile on her face as she goes over the date she had with Chloe a few days ago.

Wait.

Surely not…?

Maxine freezes and immediately goes back over the words in her head again. _Date?_ Does that mean…?

"Hey there, cat."

In a sideways glance, Maxine catches the casual grin of none other than her _date,_ Chloe Price.

Chloe smiles even wider when she notices the quite obvious blush that lights up Maxine's cheeks almost immediately. "How are you?" she asks, never once straying her eyesight away.

Maxine closes her locker and turns her head, a warm smile tugging at her lips. "I'm great. Uhm. What about you?"

Chuckling, she replies, "Real cool, kinda top of the world, y'know?"

"Oh. Sounds… great!" Maxine says and then clutches her books closer to her chest.

Chloe bobs her head and continues looking down at Maxine.

Eventually the silence becomes too much, though Maxine isn't sure whether it lasted a few seconds or a few minutes. "So-"

"I was wondering," Chloe interrupts, "there's a carnival coming to just outside of town, up a ways towards Portland. Fall themed, with the season and all."

Maxine nods as she listens.

"I… I was wondering," she repeats and looks away briefly, almost shy, "if you wanted to go there on Saturday? Somewhere past noon, maybe nearer the evening? Just hang out, do things? It'll be a blast, I promise."

Maxine smiles her widest yet, heart fluttering as her chest is almost constrained by the warm, fuzzy glow she suddenly experiences. "I'd like that," she says. "I'd like that," she repeats.

Chloe's face lights up almost immediately, an invisible weight falling off her shoulders. "Sweet."

Again the silence follows and again they're both _staring._

 _Holy fuck,_ Chloe thinks at one point, _I'm real gone-_

"Hey, Maxine! Fancy-"

Chloe and Maxine both break out of their comfortable gaze and quickly stare off at the source of the voice.

Maxine sighs internally in annoyance as she spots the shaggy-haired boy from her science classes.

Warren Graham.

"Oh, woah, was I interrupting-"

"No," Chloe and Maxine reply in unison, the two immediately glancing at one another awkwardly.

"No, you weren't," Maxine continues for them, turning away from Chloe slightly to face Warren. "Hi, Warren."

"Hey," he says and then looks at Chloe briefly. "Have you heard the news?"

"No?"

"Oh, that's cool! Well, there's this, uh… carnival, coming to town? Just outside, up a ways towards-"

"Portland," Maxine replies and smiles. "Yep, I've heard about that actually."

"Right, coolio." Warren brushes something off his sleeve nervously. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted, to uh…"

"Sorry," Maxine quickly interrupts and shakes her head. "I already have a… _date,_ scheduled," she quickly blurts out and looks at Chloe.

Chloe beams back at her and then looks at Warren. Standing slightly taller than him, she raises her shoulders and corrects her jacket, trying to project an aura of intimidation. "Yeah, she does. So how about you, uh, skid off, hmm?"

Warren glances between the two, mouth gaping open in a comical 'o' shape as he tries to process what he just heard. He flaps his mouth uselessly a few times, making the whole situation even more awkward and annoying.

"Hello?" Chloe speaks up and snaps her fingers in front of his face. "Earth to nerd, come in? Didn't you hear what I said? Skid off, square."

Listening this time, he drops his head dejectedly and walks away; mind still trying to process that his crush - Maxine - is going to a date with… another girl. That's…

"You didn't have to be so harsh," Maxine says once Warren is out of sight (and mind, temporarily). "He's my friend."

Chloe's grin falters as she hears Maxine. "Righto. Sorry," she drops her head slightly but then looks up and grins again. "But he is a nerd."

Maxine rolls her eyes and then pushes herself off the lockers, timing it perfectly with the bell that rings out in the hallway. "I need to head to class. I… I'll talk to you later? Maybe?"

"Totally."

. . .

Come Saturday, Maxine was ready for her… date. It was still weird, thinking and talking about it in that way. She always used to think that the person taking her to dates would be a boy, not a girl, and that they'd have less in common with them than she does right now.

They liked the same flicks, the same tunes, the same weather even. Deep down, Maxine wondered if this was a match made in heaven, or something equally as dreamy. Was Chloe her prince, princess even, that would rescue her from that oh-so-lonely tower?

"Maxine!"

Maxine shakes her head and quickly looks over her shoulder towards her door. "Crap!" she mumbles, realising it was time. Scurrying up from her bed, she flattens out her dress and gives herself a quick lookover in the mirror.

 _"Maxine!"_

"Coming!" she shouts back as she collects a few strands of hair, tucking them behind her hair. She'd never really cared about her looks, but now she was almost jittering - the nerves slightly getting to her. She wanted to look… nice, for Chloe.

Down the stairs in less than a minute, Maxine grabs her cardigan, says her quick goodbyes and exits through the front door before her parents can question her. It may seem rude, but she really doesn't want to answer any doubts they may have about this _date._

Chloe leans mindlessly against the slightly old Ford F100, hands in her jacket as her eyes observe the slightly dusky sky high above. She can almost make out a few stars coming into view, having scheduled the outing _just right_.

When her head falls down at the sound of the door closing, her face drops in genuine surprise; eyes watching closely as Maxine makes her way from the porch and towards the truck.

 _W-wow,_ is just about all she can muster in her mind.

"Hey there," Maxine says once she's a few feet away, hands awkwardly fumbling behind her back as she looks at Chloe. She's not one bit surprised that she hasn't really changed her looks - she still sports her leather jacket, Levi's, Chuck's and her slicked hair; but Max prefers her this way.

"Hey," Chloe finally says after a tad too long. "Uh, here," she continues and steps away from the truck, opening the door for Maxine.

Jumping inside, Maxine smiles at Chloe as she closes the door behind her.

Seconds later Chloe jumps inside herself, immediately starting the engine and pulling onto the road without a word.

"So," Maxine breaks up their silence yet again. It's starting to be a habit in their conversations. Maxine doesn't mind - she wants it to become a habit, honestly.

"You look nice," Chloe says and then gives her a sideways glance, her face holding a smile.

"You too," Max replies, her own smile growing ever so wider. "Is this your car?"

"This junker?" Chloe scoffs and nods her head. "My dad is a mechanic. He bought it for cheap and fixed it up for me."

Maxine bobs her head slightly, her lips still smiling and refusing to give up.

. . .

"Bingo!"

Maxine laughs as she watches Chloe celebrate her victory yet again. Shuffling behind her slightly as she collects her winning tickets, she smiles when Chloe turns around to face her.

"That's yet another victory to add to the tally," she comments and rolls up the tickets, pocketing them in her jacket. "C'mon."

As they leave the booth, they start walking in a random direction. There's quite a few people from all over the area, a few Blackwell students, a few older pairs and teens from towns nearby. Maxine keeps her hands in front of her whilst Chloe keeps them in her jacket.

Eventually, Maxine looks up towards Chloe and scrunches up her face in thought. Chloe drops her hand out of her pocket and wipes something off on her jeans, oblivious to Maxine's observing.

Seconds later, she almost stops in her tracks when a soft hand finds hers and pulls it slightly closer, fingers locking through fingers.

Chloe continues walking, slower now however, as she stares at Maxine. After a few seconds, she grins.

Maxine smiles back and looks back ahead. She remembers her conversation with Kate about greasers, about affiliations and such. "Uhm. You never told me if you were a part of a-"

"Gang?" Chloe finishes the sentence for her. She chuckles and shakes her head. "No, never. There's not many groups that'd accept a girl amongst them, unless she was somebody's doll, y'know?"

"Mhm."

"There was… another girl. She used to dress up like me, we had the same tastes. We didn't really care about the rules or whatever. Then one day she just… left. Not a word to me, her parents, anyone." Chloe sighs quietly as she speaks. "That was probably the closest I had to a friend for a while."

Maxine keeps quiet, opting instead to squeeze Chloe's hand. She receives a squeeze back almost immediately.

"What about you?" Chloe asks and looks at her. "You must have a lot of friends."

"Just two," she hums out and looks around the carnival grounds. "Warren, who you've met already-"

Chloe chuckles.

"-and Kate, another girl from my grade. We share a few classes, but she's probably my closest friend." Maxine brushes some hair out of her face, humming quietly to herself. "I'm not really hip or whatever."

"I beg to differ," Chloe says as she raises their hands over a random fencepost. "I think you're hip."

Maxine shakes her head and laughs. "You're just saying that because."

"Because what?" Chloe asks in a teasing fashion. "Because I think you're cute?"

Cheeks aflame with a blush in seconds, Maxine giggles and looks away.

. . .

As the hours pass, Maxine and Chloe find themselves exhausting every possible activity at the Fall Carnival. All except one.

The ferris wheel. In all it's bright, shining glory; the wheel stands at the edge of the carnival ground, slowly turning and inviting everyone over.

"C'mon!" Chloe tugs Maxine along with laughter as they enter the (surprisingly) short queue.

"I don't like heights," Maxine declares and fumbles with the hem of her cardigan.

"S'fine," Chloe says and corrects her jacket, then her hair. "I'll be there, you ain't gonna fall."

Maxine smiles and rolls her head.

They wait and talk. Eventually it's their turn and Chloe promptly hands over some tickets to allow them entry into one of the gondolas. As they sit shoulder-to-shoulder, they both look over the edge.

"Ugh," Maxine grunts quietly as the wheel jolts to life and starts its _extremely slow_ ascent.

Chloe chuckles and takes Maxine's hand into her own, giving it a squeeze. "You ain't gonna fall, stop worrying."

Slowly, ever so slowly, the ferris wheel carries them up. It's at the apex of it's turn when Maxine decides to shuffle closer to Chloe, gently dropping her head on her shoulder. It takes a lot of courage, especially for someone like her, but she does it anyway.

Taking the hint, Chloe let's go of her hand and instead wraps her arm around her shoulder lazily.

"Is that Arcadia?" Maxine asks as she spots the distant lights of an oceanside town over the peaks of the forest.

Chloe shrugs. "Probably."

As Maxine shivers slightly when the wind blows over, she sighs. "I should've brought something warmer to wear."

Without hesitation, Chloe shuffles around and slips her jacket off, gently placing it on Maxine's shoulders as she sits perplexed.

"I can't-"

"Too late," Chloe interrupts and drapes an arm around her shoulder again, pulling her closer so she can't slip it off.

Maxine stays quiet. She catches the scent of Chloe's warm jacket at some point; leather, polish and grease. She doesn't mind any of it as she secures it around her shoulders and looks out over the view.

. . .

Half-an-hour later they finally decide to make their way out of the carnival grounds. No longer hand-in-hand, Chloe instead keeps her arm over Maxine's shoulder as she in turn keeps on arm around her waist.

It's nice, and Maxine definitely thinks it's not what she expected by the end of their date - it's far more.

"So, whaddya want doll?" Chloe asks when they approach the rewards booth at the exit of the carnival, eager to cash in her hard-earned tickets.

Maxine shrugs. "I don't mind," she replies, Chloe's use of 'doll' causing a blush to creep up onto her cheeks for the umpteenth time. Thankfully it's relatively dark, so it's well-hidden.

Chloe hands over her tickets and then points at the cute teddy bear sitting on a pile of plushies. She watches as the attendant plucks the teddy in question and hands it over with a smile.

"Here," she says as they turn around and start walking towards the car park.

Maxine laughs as she grabs the bear and holds it close. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

. . .

When the Ford F100 finally rolls to a quiet stop outside Maxine's house, Chloe exhales and smiles. Giving Max a sideways glance, she speaks, "Today was fun."

Maxine nods her head. "Really fun. You were right, it was a blast."

"I'm glad you enjoyed."

As their signature silence takes over, Maxine thinks over some things she read and watched with her grade once. Chloe simply stares, mind blank, unsure what to say anymore.

Maxine scoots over, leans forward and presses a kiss to Chloe's cheek. She remembers that girls aren't supposed to kiss boys until the third date, but Chloe isn't a boy so she can get away with it if anyone asks.

"Thank you," she whispers and quickly hops out the truck.

Chloe barely has time to register what happened before there's a knock on her driver-side window. She quickly turns and lowers it, forming a dopey grin as the kiss sinks in.

"Your jacket," Maxine says and gestures to the leather jacket still draped over her shoulders.

"Keep it," Chloe says and shakes her head. "You look boss."

Maxine laughs and shakes her own head. "No, I can't-"

"If you keep it that means you have to see me again at some point," Chloe says and smirks.

Maxine stops for a second and then giggles, pulling the jacket closer to her shoulders. "You're a smooth cat."

"I'd like to think so," Chloe replies and follows it up with a wink. "Uh, keep safe, yeah? I'll talk to you in school."

"Mhm," Maxine hums and gives her a gentle wave, watching as Chloe starts up the truck and promptly leaves.

She continues standing in her spot for a few more seconds before she smiles to herself, clutches the jacket closer and quickly runs up to her house.

"I'm back!" she declares towards the direction of her living room, not bothering to take off the jacket as she immediately makes her way for the staircase.

She's pretty sure one of her parents spotted her with the unusual leather jacket suddenly in her possession, but if so then they didn't make a comment on it.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Gotta finish stories because so much work agh!

Quick note regarding my obviously unrealistic portrayal of same-sex relationships in the 1950's - If I had more time, perhaps if I explored this idea at a later date in more depth, I'd definitely include a far more serious view on things. Right now I only slightly hint at it and I'm going to keep it that way because this was only meant to be a small, fluffy piece based on a comic I saw.

That being said, next chapter will up far sooner than this one!

\- :) WinTTY


	3. Backseat Bingo

For almost the entire week afterwards, Maxine wears Chloe's jacket everywhere. She wears it outside, out and about town with Kate, in the Blackwell hallways, even on the way home and up the stairs to her room. For almost the entire week afterwards, Maxine doesn't see Chloe anywhere - not outside, not in town, not in Blackwell, not on her way home. She gets worried.

Her sudden change in style doesn't go unnoticed at school either. Rumours spread quickly - as they always do - and soon enough Maxine finds herself avoided by the majority of greasers who used to give her hungry looks before. She smiles to herself when she realises what wearing Chloe's jacket must mean to them. A few of the girls whisper when she's around.

Kate notices too. She doesn't ask questions because she'd think it'd be rude, and instead she smiles at how much more happy Maxine looks recently, smiles at the almost dreamy stories she keeps telling. Maxine doesn't speak to Warren - they simply exchange a simple "Hi" in the hallways now - and he does his best not to stare anymore. He knows what the jacket means too.

After almost an entire week out of contact, Chloe surfaces on Thursday. Maxine doesn't see her when she exits Blackwell beside Kate, smiling as she clutches her books against her chest and takes in the warmth of the leather jacket she's wearing.

Shortly enough though, Chloe announces her presence. "Hey there cats, I'm lookin' for a doll who stole my jacket not a week ago - kinda small-ish, mousy brown hair… ring a bell?"

Maxine stops and looks up, her smile already out of proportions as she spots Chloe stepping out from behind a tree - her own grin spread wide across her pale face. "Hi!" escapes her lips right afterwards, though she's not sure whether it was a whisper or an excited squeak.

"What's shaking?" Chloe asks as she steps forward, giving Kate a quick once-over. "Hey. Kate, right?"

Kate opens her eyes wide and almost drops her bookbag. She quickly nods. "Yes? How… How do you know my name?" she questions with raised eyebrows.

Chloe laughs, one hand running fingers through her hair. "Maxine told me a few things about you."

Maxine looks at Kate with a slightly awkward smile and then looks back up at Chloe. "I'm good," she says to answer Chloe's previous query. "What about you?"

"You know me, doll," Chloe replies and steps forward, now finding herself awfully close to Maxine. "Reaaaal good. The jacket looks killer on you," she comments and winks.

Kate widens her eyes even further.

"Oh! Right. Your jacket," Maxine blurts out and quickly slips herself out of the leather. She feels the absence of the warmth and the familiar scent she's grown to accommodate, but she parts ways with it as she passes the jacket over.

Chloe intentionally grabs Maxine's hand and holds it there, focusing her eyes directly on Maxine's. She waits until Maxine blushes and looks away before she giggles, pulls the jacket gently out of her grip and throws it over her shoulder. "Thanks," she says and gives Kate a quick sideways glance.

Kate is still standing still, switching her eyes between Max and Chloe. Slowly, she realises that Chloe must be the person that Maxine had been talking about the past week.

"I've gotta skedaddle, have to help my dad at the workshop," Chloe says and then puts the leather jacket on properly. "Maybe I'll see you soon?" she continues in Maxine's direction.

Maxine fumbles with her books and nods. "Mhm," she hums dreamily, smiling directly at her. She bites her lip and hopes her hastily-prepared plan works.

Chloe resists the urge to do something undeniably questionable in front of the entire Blackwell campus, instead opting to turn around and walk away. She notices a few pairs of eyes on her as she walks down the steps and she grins.

When she slots her hands into her pockets, she raises her eyebrow at the sudden crinkling of paper. She grips the item and pulls it out, giving a quick lookover as her grin extends even further.

It's a note, a note from Maxine to be exact, and it contains her number; it's surrounded by a bundle of hearts too.

Below it, a question: _Me+You, drive-in flick on Saturday, noon?_

Chloe laughs, shakes her head and encloses the paper in her fist like a treasure.

. . .

Maxine shares more than one conversation over the phone with Chloe over the rest of the week. It's mostly short calls, though the first one extends well over ten minutes and has Maxine's parents urging her off the phone once it draws out even longer. It in that phone call that they make proper arrangements for their next date.

She's 100% positive it's a date now. She wants it to be a date. Putting that piece of paper in Chloe's jacket was perhaps the bravest thing she'd ever done, she tells herself, and she's happy - over the moon - it worked so well.

So once Saturday comes around, Maxine stands prepared outside her house on the porch. Hands crossed over her skirt, she waits and constantly looks up and down her road, waiting and waiting, awaiting the hum of the truck and the girl she's pretty sure she's going nuts for.

When the truck finally pulls out around the corner, Maxine hurries over to the side of the road.

Seconds later it stops a few feet short of her, the passenger door flying open a brief moment afterwards. Chloe peeks up over the steering wheel and smiles wide at Maxine, gesturing her inside.

"Hi!" Maxine says immediately the moment she's sat down inside. "What took you so long?"

Chloe opens her eyes wide. "Ah, shit," she mumbles and looks away, now embarrassed. "Sorry, my dad kept me in for longer. I was literally in and out of my house in like three minutes to grab some fresh clothes."

Maxine giggles and shakes her head. "That's okay, you're here now."

At that, Chloe blushes; a rare occurrence. "Thanks," she whispers and then pulls the truck back onto the road. "So. Newberg, huh?"

"That's the closest drive-in, unless you have some other place in mind?" Maxine speaks and looks over at Chloe.

"No, no, just asking to make sure," she replies, focusing on driving for now.

They stay quiet most of the way, but steal glances at one another from time to time.

. . .

"Thanks."

Chloe grabs the change she's given and pockets it quickly, waiting for their order. A few seconds later she's handed over a tub of popcorn from the drive-in attendant, quickly handing it over to Maxine.

Again the truck moves forward, this time at a much slower pace however, as they seek an empty spot in the relatively packed drive-in theatre. It takes a few minutes, but finally they manage to find a quiet, out of the way parking space closer to the woods that surround the entire lot.

"Well," Chloe says as she kills the engine and leans back, stretching, "glad that drive is over."

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Maxine quickly blurts out as she realises this may have been a mistake. "Crap, I didn't mean for you-"

"Huh? No, it's cool!" Chloe interrupts the moment she sees Max panicking. "Seriously, no sweat doll, I don't mind driving all the way out here."

"But now you're tired and- ugh!" Maxine sighs and drops her head to the side.

Chloe raises both her eyebrows, unsure what to say. Her mouth gapes a few times before she closes it and reaches over, placing her hand over Maxine's on her lap. "Hey," she murmurs and shakes her gently, "it's fine, seriously. You're just overthinking things, I'm just a bit beat after the drive, I still want to watch the flick…"

Maxine rolls her head to the side and looks at her. She closes her eyes, sighs again and beats herself up mentally for making such a big deal of such a small gesture. "Sorry," she whispers awkwardly, "I have a tendency to blow things out of proportion."

"That just makes you even cuter," Chloe teases and watches as her cheeks turn a rosy red. She's pretty sure she'll never get tired of making Maxine blush. "Now c'mon, it's starting," she continues and gestures up to the large screen at the far end of the lot.

Maxine nods, shuffles slightly closer and then focuses on the screen.

. . .

Minutes into the movie, their hands collide as they both reach for the popcorn tub in between them. It gets slightly awkward as they stare at one another.

Then Chloe laughs, takes Maxine's hand and gives it a squeeze.

They both laugh and switch back to the movie seconds later.

. . .

Maxine shuffles closer again as the film goes on. She's not sure why she's suddenly so shy when it was just last week that they were almost cuddling at the top of the ferris wheel at the carnival just out of town. Perhaps it was nerves, perhaps it was her overthinking things again, perhaps she wasn't sure Chloe liked what she did then.

Chloe notices after the fourth time she moves closer and takes the matter into her own hands. "C'mere," she murmurs and extends her arm out across the seat, gesturing Maxine forward.

She hesitates for one, two, three seconds and then smiles. As she shuffles to the side, Chloe slips her arm around her shoulders, picks up the tub of popcorn and puts it on her lap instead.

Soon enough Maxine rests her head on Chloe's leather jacket again and Chloe rests her cheek on her hair.

They focus on the large screen again and don't say a thing.

. . .

At some point, Maxine notices Chloe's fingers threading through her hair gently.

She smiles, nuzzles her cheek against the leather jacket and relaxes even further.

. . .

Chloe curses when the first droplets of rain land on the windshield. She hopes that it doesn't start raining.

Maxine takes the moment to look around them, particularly at the few cars parked a few spaces away. Almost immediately she blushes and looks away upon spotting a couple necking it in the front seat.

Following her gaze, Chloe spots the couple in question and smirks. She looks to the other cars around them and sees that everyone else is focusing on the movie.

There's an irresistible urge to make a move, but Chloe scolds herself mentally. She doesn't want to frighten Maxine, doesn't want to push the boundaries against her will; she'd have to be a kookie to do that. She's willing to wait a long time.

Maxine bites her lip and breathes a sigh of relief when the droplets stop.

. . .

 _Oh, shit-_

Chloe almost wants to avert her gaze when the movie suddenly takes a deep turn into the romantic end of the spectrum. Her eyes stay focused on the screen as the actors share a kiss - conservative at first, but very quickly turning into a more fiery, more passionate liplock.

Maxine feels her face heating up as she shifts almost uncomfortably. It's almost like somebody turned up the heater by a few hundred degrees. Giving the couple from before a sideways glance, her cheeks continue to turn into a deeper red; they're still kissing.

Her eyes close tight and she stops breathing.

The fingers in her hair stop working, stop threading through her strands.

Seconds pass before a gentle hand finds its way to her cheek. On instinct, she leans into it and manages a smile. As her eyes open, the hand cups her chin and pulls it up.

They stare for a few good seconds. Hearts pounding, they're both wondering whether their ribcages will give out from the constant pressure against the bones. They also wonder whether _this is it;_ the culmination of their dates, when both their dreams become true and their story turns to a _happily ever after_ novel.

Slowly, they meet in the middle and their eyes close once again.

Everything happens all at once, overwhelming both of them as they lock their lips together and move in unison. Their hearts settle in moments, resuming a slow steady beat that is in rhythm with the other (though they've no idea). Their hands find one another and fingers thread through fingers, squeezing. Bodies move forward, though neither is sure who is initiating the contact; Chloe secretly bets on Maxine as Maxine secretly bets on Chloe - it doesn't really matter though.

Then when it's over, it's almost too soon.

Maxine opens her eyes, half-lidded and focused on Chloe, as she moves back slightly to get a look at her.

Chloe mirrors her, though her mouth doesn't quite gape as much as Maxine's - instead it holds a mischievous grin.

They move forward again, though only to place their foreheads together. Maxine looks at their locked hands and smiles. Chloe follows her gaze, gives their hands a squeeze and then looks back at her.

"Baby," she whispers and gets her attention, "baby, all this… this time we've been having together these past few weeks… it's been amazing-"

"-I know-"

"-and I want you to know that," she stops and closes her eyes, taking in a breath, "I want you to know that I don't want this to end-"

"-me neither," Maxine interrupts quietly, smiling, "You make me feel like I'm on Cloud 9."

Chloe nods and presses forward slightly, giving her a gentle kiss; it feels natural, even though it's only their second. "You're literally the best thing to happen to me-"

"-and you, me-"

"-I want this to last forever. I'll do anything, _anything,_ to make that happen."

Maxine continues to smile. She places another kiss on her lips, squeezing their hands this time.

"Baby, I love you," Chloe whispers.

Silence settles for only a brief moment.

Maxine moves forward and initiates another kiss. It's longer, more passionate; she blushes when she realises she might be making a fool of herself, but if she is then Chloe doesn't care as she's kissing her back.

Gently, Chloe pushes her back down onto the bench seat of her truck, lowers herself over her lips - stares at her in the dim moonlight that washes over through the windshield. She smiles and leans down, kissing her again, and again, and again.

That is until they're interrupted by a knock on their window.

Turns out the movie finished an hour ago and they both missed it somehow?

Chloe laughs it off, Maxine blushes like mad, the attendant gives them both weird looks and strolls off to the other cars still parked around.

As they drive out of the lot, their hands intertwine in the middle. They both look at one another, smile and squeeze their hands.

They're both pretty sure that what they've got will last forever.

* * *

 **A/N:**

That's probably one of the sappiest endings I've ever written?

Finally finished, this took way longer than I wanted it to.

I want to explore this AU further in the future with some ideas put forward to me by a few great folks on the LiSF Discord, but for now I have to focus on finishing my other fics because I'm starting to become busy IRL again but I have so many more ideas I want to explore and uGHHHHHHhhhh.

Hopefully you all enjoyed, and see you next time!

\- :) WinTTY


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